Gore wins a Webby

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Scant consolation, perhaps, for a failed presidential candidate,
but a proud achievement for the other victors who took the stage at
the Ninth Annual Webby Awards in New York City's Gotham Hall on
Monday night.

It was comeback year for the self-proclaimed Oscars of the
internet - or "gongs for geeks" as one humble winner put it - which
had been forced to roll up its red carpet after the global dot.com
bust that relegated a host of past honorees to the cyber
wilderness.

After online-only ceremonies in 2003 and 2004, the Webby Awards
for internet excellence re-emerged from the virtual world to honour
creative websites offering everything from employment opportunities
for spies to surreal songs by guitar-playing kittens.

"It was like the Dark Ages back there for a while, but we've
come out the other side," said Tiffany Shlain, the awards' founder
and creative director.

"The past year has been one of outrageous growth for the
internet, and it's not only become bigger, but better ... more
substantial and more mature," Ms Shlain said.

Monday's ceremony offered awards in 65 categories - more than
double last year's number - after receiving entries from more than
4000 websites in 40 countries.

There were so many nominees that the organisers decided to
announce the winners a month in advance of the awards event in an
effort to restrict attendance.

"I know it's a cliche, but we can honestly say there are no
losers here tonight," declared the host for the evening, comedian
Rob Corddry. "Because they weren't invited."

While the Webbys may lack the glamour of the Oscars, they offer
the quirky advantage of strictly limiting acceptance speeches to
just five words, thus prohibiting gushingly tearful testimonials of
gratitude to family and agents.

"I hate acceptance speeches," said Ms Shlain. "They always make
you cringe. This way, it's a challenge to be more creative."

Some managed a dig at their competitors. A representative from
flightmaker.com, which won the travel category, played charades
with the audience to elicit the five-word put down: "Eat your heart
out Orbitz."

The food and beverage award was won by the website of the
Californian nut company Emerald, but it was SoBe Beverages, winner
of a consolation "people's voice" Webby in the same category, that
had the last word.

"New Zealand: More than Hobbits," was the offering from
newzealand.com which won a tourism prize, while apartments.com had
an equally wry response to victory in the real estate category
with: "Live the American dream. Rent."

The ceremony testified to the diversity of the internet, with
awards for social activism, religion and spirituality, sports,
politics and consumer electronics.

And the categories threw up some surprises with the employment
Webby going to the recruiting website of the Central Intelligence
Agency.

"Winning a Webby can make a difference," said Joel Veitch, 31,
whose rathergood.com swept both the humour and weird categories
with its animated singing cats.

"It doesn't mean an explosion in the site's popularity, but it
confers status in the web community and helps with commissions,
which is how I make a living," Mr Veitch said.

Webby winners are chosen by the grandly titled International
Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which claims a membership
that includes David Bowie, Francis Ford Coppola and "The Simpsons"
creator Matt Groening.

Mr Gore, who was pilloried during the 2000 presidential campaign
for appearing to imply that he had created the internet, won a
lifetime achievement award for providing crucial political support
to the technical development of the World Wide Web.

Clasping his Webby, even Mr Gore adhered to the five-word limit.
"Please, don't recount this vote," he said.